Unicaja storms into EuroCup Finals!

Unicaja Malaga became the first team to reach the 2017 7DAYS EuroCup final! In its first season in the competition, Unicaja defeated Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 74-63 in front of a sellout crowd at Martin Carpena in Game 2 to sweep their best-of-three semifinal playoffs series on Friday. Unicaja will face either Valencia Basket or Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the finals. It also reached its first continental final since 2001. Valencia and Hapoel play a do-or-die Game 3 on Wednesday and the winner will have the home-court advantage against Unicaja in the finals. Nemanja Nedovic led the winners with 21 points, Kyle Fogg added 16 and Alen Omic had 10 for Unicaja. Kevin Jones paced Lokomotiv with 17 points. Evgeny Baburin added 12 on 4 of 6 three-point shooting for the visitors. Unicaja led all the way, opening the game with a 19-3 run and keeping a 37-24 margin at halftime. Despite pulling down 10 offensive rebounds, Lokomotiv hit just 6-of-25 shots inside the arc (24%) in the first half and committed 7 turnovers. Unicaja finished the game with 10 turnovers, 27 fouls drawn and a 59.3% two-point shooting percentage (16-of-27), in what were the biggest keys to this game.

Dani Diez got Unicaja going with a three-pointer and Nedovic struck twice from beyond the arc, which caused Lokomotiv to call timeout at 9-0. Matt Janning joined the three-point shootout, but Fogg and Omic combined for 7 points in another 10-0 run that broke the game open, 19-3. Taylor Rochestie hit a jumper and Baburin added consecutive triples, but Jamar Smith answered from beyond the arc, Carlos Suarez hit free throws and a buzzer-beating floater by Fogg gave Unicaja a 27-11 margin after 10 minutes. Ian Vougioukas scored down early in the second quarter, but a red-hot Fogg followed a three-pointer with a jumper for a 32-13 Unicaja lead. Lokomotiv found a go-to guy in Jones, who had 4 points in a 9-0 run that brought the guests within 32-22. Nedovic scored again and a layup by Suarez boosted Unicaja's margin to 37-24 at halftime. Jones followed a layup with a jumper right after the break, but Jeff Brooks and Smith kept Unicaja way ahead, 42-28. Ryan Broekhoff and Mardy Collins found their first points to give the guests hope at 46-36. Diez nailed a triple, Nedovic added a jumper and an off-balance basket by Fogg restored a 53-40 Unicaja lead, which Vladimir Ivlev cut to 53-42 after 30 minutes. A put-back basket by Jones brought Lokomotiv within single digits, 53-44. Fogg stepped up with a three-pointer and Omic made free throws, but Rochestie kept Lokomotiv alive at 62-51. A big triple by Nedovic sealed the outcome, 65-51, with over four minutes left. Lokomotiv did not give up, but all Unicaja fans had plenty of time to celebrate a historic win.

Head Coaches

PLAZA, JOAN

Unicaja Malaga

"I am very happy, very special congratulations to my players, who did a tremendous job, playing seven games in 15 days, always on guard and without the home-court advantage. I am very thankful to all of my staff and the physical trainers who allowed us to get here in the right condition. This is the third European final for this club and wanted to offer it to them. Congratulations to our fans. Malaga has shown it deserves to be at the highest level in Europe. The atmosphere was spectacular, we had 11,000 fans in the stands. That summarizes the good job we did. We had to be able to get this, but are not happy with it. We will fight, with our without the home-court advantage. We have been playing well for a long time, but have to forget what we did and think about the next game. I don't think we are favorites, not having the home-court advantage is always difficult. We have to keep our feet on the ground. I don't have kids, but each EuroCup finals I played is like having one. I am under contract for another season and it was the only place in which I could have left without playing a final. I understand that this team has added pressure and is very demanding, but this is the least I could offer. We will play a European final. We deserve it, both the club and the city."

OBRADOVIC, SASA

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar

"Congratulations to Unicaja. They deserved to play the final and showed they are the better team in this moment. I wish them luck. Actually, I think we lost our chance in Game 1 because we didn't use our home-court advantage. We knew that it was going to be very hard to win here tonight. We had a very bad start, then somehow we caught the rhythm and almost won all the other three quarters, but of course, this is not the game. They did a great job, finding the right guys at the right moment. Congratulations to the whole team and their coaching staff for this success."

Players

NEDOVIC, NEMANJA

Unicaja Malaga

"It was very exciting. Players want to play games like this. This is why we practice a lot and why we work so much. With this atmosphere, everything is easier. It was not an easy series. You need to be mentally strong to win on the road and the win in Munich was very important for our confidence. It is a great day. The whole team worked hard and I don't feel more important than anyone. I think we can win again, even without the home court advantage. We already made it, it is up to Valencia and Jerusalem: it is between them."

WACZYNSKI, ADAM

Unicaja Malaga

"Coaches, players, everyone did a great job. We have great fans and it is very important to count on them. We played really well in Russia and did the same here in Malaga. I don't know which opponent is better for us, Valencia or Jerusalem."